"Cinderella Man" is a classical tale of the underdog rising to the challenge - and on his way to the top, he brought a depressed nation with him. The film is also a look at the economic devastation of a country through one man's eyes.
The story starts off by introducing the movie's main character, James "Jim" Braddock (Russell Crowe), a middleweight boxer with a solid right hand. His wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), is supportive of Jim but chooses not to attend any of his matches for fear of seeing him seriously injured. But his fast-talking and faithful manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) does attend.
He breaks his hand and isn't allowed to box, all while the American economy is dealt a fatal blow, leading to one of the darkest times in America's history - the Great Depression. Jim's means to support his family are limited without boxing, and he has to find another way to support his wife and three kids.
Jim eventually finds work as a day laborer on the docks in their New Jersey town, but there are too many men who need work and not enough positions available to everyone. He struggles with his family over not having enough food or the money to pay electrical or gas bills in their cold basement apartment.
The family's morale slowly decreases as the heat is turned off and one of Jim's children becomes ill. Without the adequate money to take care of the family, Mae is forced to send the children to relatives' homes, despite Jim's protests.
He eventually gets his children back after going on government assistance and getting money from former colleagues at the boxing commission. But Jim's luck changes when his manager comes to him about a one-time fight with a powerful and dangerous right-hander. Jim lasts the first round and shocks everyone when he knocks the other boxer out.
Gould negotiates another fight in which Jim wins again. Gould continues to do this until he beats the No. 1 contender for the belt and is given a chance to fight the title holder Max Baer (Craig Bierko).
With Jim's confidence lifted and his right hand healed, he goes into the ring with the faith of a saint and prayers of a nation. Named "Cinderella Man" by newspapers, Jim is given the chance to change his situation.
This is one of the first Oscar-worthy movies of the summer. The acting in this movie is some of the best all year - Crowe in his role as Jim creates a character that the viewer relates to. The character sells itself, but Crowe's innocence and love for his family, nation and people affected by the Depression make his role all the more compelling.
Zellweger is astounding as Mae. Being his other half, the audience can see that, between her husband's boxing career and caring for the children with barely any money, she is torn on whether they will make it as a family. Her character's tears and love pull the viewer in to the edge of their seat.
Watching the compelling relationship between Zellweger's and Crowe's characters makes it hard for anyone to hold back tears.
The cinematography and coloring of the film was done well and gave the film a vintage feel. Director Ron Howard does an excellent job of making sure every frame has a darkness to it. He uses typical dark and light contrasting - the happier moments are in the light, such as when Braddock was in the spotlight of the ring or the sunny day where Joe Gould offers him another fight.
Overall, the film is definitely worth a look, if only for Crowe's performance as the hero Jim Braddock and Howard's interpretation of the Depression and its emotional toll on the population.
